A Different Kind of Pit Stop

Despite the fact that many sporting events have been delayed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many sporting venues have still been put to good use, and that’s no different for the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.

Sadly, for the second year in a row, Montreal won’t be hosting the Canadian Grand Prix. Still, the cancellation of this year's race weekend won’t mean the circuit isn’t going to see some action this summer, as the facilities at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve will be used as a vaccination centre for three weekends in May and June.

Thanks to a massive collaboration between the Canadian Grand Prix promoters, the City of Montreal, Government of Québec and the Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal University Integrated Health and Social Services Centre, the garages at the circuit will be converted into vaccination stations. Up to 6,000 vaccines will be administered thanks to this effort across the next three weekends, including the original date of this year's race.

What’s notable is that this isn’t the only case we’ve seen of sporting venues being used as mass vaccination sites. For instance, as of April, over one million vaccines have been administered at eleven different Major League Baseball stadiums. The same can be said for NFL stadium across the United States, as seventeen of the league’s thirty facilities have been cleared for use as vaccination sites.

The utilization of these facilities for this purpose certainly shows how desperate the need is for accessible and sizeable vaccination sites. From a Canadian perspective, and the perspective of a racing fan like myself, it’s at least positive to see that the Canadian Grand Prix promoters and the City of Montreal are making the most of a bad situation.

On a grander scale, as we wait patiently for sports as we know it to return - with arenas and stadiums full of fans - it’s nice to see how the transformation of these venues is helping us get back to that reality.